Microsoft may charge higher prices for Windows 10 Pro Workstation PCs depending on their processors

Microsoft will soon be launching a new edition of Windows 10. The company is effectively making a more powerful version of Windows 10 Pro — aptly called Windows 10 Pro for Workstations — with more features and improved performance that are crucial to high-end machines powered by Windows 10. Microsoft is yet to officially reveal any pricing details about Windows 10 Pro for Workstations.

However, it seems like Microsoft will be tweaking its pricing strategy for Windows 10 Pro for Workstations when it launches. The new edition will be available as an upgrade to existing Windows 10 Pro and Home users, but Microsoft’s OEM partners will be selling workstations that come with Windows 10 Pro for Workstations out of the box. According to ZDNet, these OEMs will have to pay higher prices for Windows 10 Pro for Workstations depending on the processor of a device.

The report states that devices powered by Intel’s Xeon processors with four or fewer cores will see their prices increase by around $70, and devices with more than four cores are expected to see their prices rise by $230. Windows 10 Pro for Workstations is a requirement for devices with Intel Xeon and AMD Opteron processors, but it’s not clear if the price rise will also affect machines powered by AMD’s Opteron processor. Microsoft will also be adding support for the Intel Core i9 and AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors to Windows 10 Pro for Workstations with the release of Windows 10 Redstone 4 in early 2018.

Windows 10 Pro for Workstations sports Microsoft’s Resilient file system (ReFS), faster file sharing (with SMB Direct), support for devices with up to 4 CPUs, and a fast I/O with the perisstent memory (NVDIMM-N).  The new edition is expected to arrive along with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, which is set to launch on the 17th of October.